Reviews with content warning for Islamophobia - The Lying Game

The Lying Game is my fourth Ruth Ware book; I only have her debut, In a Dark, Dark Wood, and her most recent, One by One, left to read! I just generally get along really well with Ware's writing style, I love the way she writes suspense and setting, and I am always taken by her character development. The Lying Game is about a woman named Isa Wilde and the group of friends she made at boarding school, Fatima, Thea, and Kate. The book begins with someone finding a bone while walking their dog, then cuts to new mother Isa receiving a text from Kate to her three friends saying, 'I need you.' The timeline progresses from there while also cutting back to the year the four spent at boarding school leading up to the disappearance of their art teacher, who was also Kate's father.

This book does so many things so well. It is about a very insular friend group and explores how that dynamic can become toxic and isolating while also leaving room to show that the relationships formed can have positive repercussions in other ways. I really loved the way Ware wrote this group. The four were very different and were not always kind or thoughtful towards each other, but they seemed so real and protective. It shows how the passage of time changes people and places, how secrets and lies have ripple effects far beyond the original intent. The girls played 'the lying game' while at school, where they gained points for lies to others but required honesty from each other. The book does an excellent job exploring these topics in a way I loved.

These women were all so interesting to read about. The way the story progresses has your trust constantly shifting; you implicitly believe folks who you question everything they have said mere pages later. This happens with the core friend group and with everyone else from the past who was mentioned.

I particularly liked the way the plot unfolded. You get information relatively slowly at first, leading up to a series of reveals. I thought the pacing of this was done really well, and I particularly liked the way the characters and reader feel about the actions taken can change so drastically with each new bit of information revealed. I don't want to say more for fear of spoilers, but I was very invested in finding out how the book was going to end; I had so many questions and wild theories while I read.

The girls in the group are not perfect people, either in the past or the present. The story shows how they have all been impacted by their lies, showing how time has treated each of the four very differently. Each woman has lived a very different life, with varying levels of support after leaving school, and that is made very clear throughout the novel. My favorite was probably Fatima, but seeing how all the women loved each other despite their flaws or cruelty made me genuinely interested in all four equally.

All I will say about the very end is that I really loved it. Some part of the ending didn't completely hit me, but the note the book leaves on was fabulous for me. The small qualms were nowhere near enough to dampen the intense desire I had to read this book or the things I loved about it.

As a heads up, there is some Islamophobia in this book; it is addressed on the page, and the book clearly does not condone the awful comments faced by Fatima about her religion, but I wanted to make a note, so it isn't a surprise.

I would absolutely recommend its book. Anyone looking for tight-knit friendship, a tapestry of lies, or questionable deaths being reexamined should flock here if they haven't already.

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Content Warnings

mk_murr's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The story wasn’t amazing, and the twist at the end felt forced. I also had a hard time believing that the main narrator, Isa, and the other character were only in their late twenties. For some reason, they seemed older; though, maybe they were aged by the trauma they went through. The main characters were unlikeable for the most part, apart from Fatima, but the setting was mysterious and beautifully written. I’d recommend it for an adult looking for a quick mystery.

Content Warnings